What is a Flat Top Grill

What is a Flat Top Grill
Written By: Kathy Jeffery
Date Published: March 15, 2021

Flat top grill is the versatile cooking appliance that is owned by almost every restaurant. It has a flat surface with an amazing heat control system on which you can cook anything you want. It provides the quick food and you can be entertained by cooking techniques like baking,  braising, sautéing, toasting, shallow frying, stir frying, pan frying, browning, grilling, and roasting. This detailed guide will explain what is a flat top grill with discussing every perspective whether it's structure, cooking, food that grills the best and how to take care of your grill

What is a Flat Top Grill
What is a Flat Top Grill

It is a cross of griddle and grill which means you can get both qualities in this grill. A flat top grill has a flat cooking surface and doesn't have grates. 

Some grills kill two birds with one stone by facilitating their customers with griddle flat surfaces and a grill. You can remove the griddle and switch to grill. This is the most amazing feature. 

Here you will know what you can cook on a flat top and some tricks to use it more effectively. After knowing all about flat top grill you will be able to decide, if you should buy it or not. Cooking is a lot easier on this grill. 

if you choose to buy a flat top grill then read about some of the best flat top grills

Cooking on a flat top grill:

You can cook anything on a flat top grill. It provides the all in one cooking surface. From the eggs for breakfast to the burgers for your dinner, you can choose to cook everything on it except heavy fat meats that require a proper grilling environment. There are no grill grates so a flat surface is perfect for traditionally daily routine cooking. This grill provides even heat and cooks food evenly. Just like your indoor kitchen stove, it provides various heating temperatures with burners. 

Flat tops are perfect to give off buttery and caramel rich foods. Let's take a look at what you can cook specifically on this flat top grill. 

Best Foods on flat top grill:

  • Breakfast: Pancakes, fried eggs, toasts, sandwiches, burritos and a lot more. 
  • Lunch/dinner: Vegetables like asparagus and eggplants, mushrooms, onions, burgers, steaks, cubed potatoes and many more. 
  • Bad Foods: As a flat top grill is expert in cooking everything you desire daily to eat. It's unable to provide some of the traditional looks and flavors. You won't be able to taste some of the mouth watering and eye catchy BBQ or steamed foods from this grill. 
  • Smoky flavor with grill marks: We recommend you not to look for some smoky and steamy cooks on this grill. Griddle doesn't provide the grill marks that look amazingly perfect on the BBQ meats. Find the best of the buttery and basic tastes from the it.  Some flat top grills are now providing the interchange cooking surfaces for their customers as well in which you can experience both, grill and griddle. 
  • Steamed foods: The other thing you shouldn't expect from this grill is the sharp watery flavor of foods. You can't get the steamed vegetables out of this grill. 

Yeah! You can use pots or pans for boiling on the flat top grill but you will miss out the buttery flavor of direct cooking. 

Flat Top Tips- Use Your Flat Top Grill Efficiently.

Cooking-on-a-flat-top-grill
Cooking-on-a-flat-top-grill

Before buying or using this grill you should know the significant points about this flat top grill. Through this you will be able to cook like a pro master. 

What could be better than cooking like a professional chef in the first attempt? 

  • Preheat the flat top grill: Preheating is the most important in these grills because this grill is too large that it could take time to heat up and cook food on time. You should preheat the flat top for about 10-15 minutes before you start cooking. In the meantime you can prepare your cooking ingredients. 
  • Slow start and gradually increase: The temperature of the grill should begin with low temperature and then increase gradually. The flat top grill can get to the temperature of about 600 degrees but make sure not to reach that much temperature at first use. To heat it to 400-500 degrees, you can just need to set the flat grill to 1/3 to 1/2 power of heat. 
  • Use two or more burners: It is recommended to use two or more burners even if you are cooking a small meal. Avoid using a single burner because it won't give off enough heat and food will take time. If you want to cook a bit of food then you can remove the flat top and use skittle instead. 
  • Set the temperature zones: If you are cooking a lot of food at once and want to keep the food warm then you can set the temperature of sides of the grill. The side of warming the food can be at a low temperature and your cooking area can be high as you want. This will provide different temperature zones, as one side could be a bit cooler and the other could be heated up properly. 
  • Cleaning: If it start sticking then it means your griddle needs proper seasoning. Seasoning is very important for extracting more out of your grill. Cleaning it is a lot easier in case of chrome griddle because it doesn't require extra scrubbing efforts for cleaning. Stainless steel griddles  are ready to use professionally after two to three seasoning processes. Knowing how to clean a cast iron flat top grill increases the grill life and it helps to have hygienic food every time you grill.

Shabby grills never last longer so for proper cleaning instructions and information look for how to clean it. You will be able to clean according to your griddle material properly.  To clean it in a proper way you should have good knowledge about what is a flat top grill, structure and all the other features of it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between griddle and grill?

The major difference between griddle and grill is that the griddles are flat and have a smooth cooking surface. Grills are not flat and have raised ridges.

Can you use pots on pans on a flat top grill?

Yes. You can easily use pans or pots on a this grill. But avoid using a pan or pot bigger than 1 quart on the grill. 

Is a flat top grill better?

The answer to this question depends on your personal preference. Flat top grills are generally preferred by people who want to make smaller food portions. They are good for grilling thin meats, sausages, fish and veggies. The advantage of a flat top grill is that it gives a consistent heat. They are easy to clean and if you want a real professional pizza oven then a flat top can be used for that as well.

What is a flat top grill used for?

A flat top grill is used for grilling thin slices of meat like kebabs and fish fillets. This style of grills is usually found in restaurants and most of them can be moved and stored easily. A flat top grill also keeps the food warm and it has a larger grilling area.

What do restaurants use on flat top grill?

Restaurants use a vegetable oil based liquid cooking spray on the surface of grill to prevent food from sticking to it. This liquid cooking spray has some chemical agents in it to prevent food from sticking to the surface of the heated grill.

What is the difference between a flat top griddle and a grill?

A flat top griddle and a grill both use heat as a primary cooking source. The griddle, however, is flat and the grill is usually rounded, giving it a bowl-like appearance. The flat top griddle tends to be the more versatile of the two, as it can be used to mimic both a grill and a stovetop pan. Many of today’s flat top griddles offer multiple burners, allowing the cook to utilize the various zones created by the surface. The reason for this flexibility is that flat top griddles allow for more precision than a traditional grill. As such, many dishes can be prepared on them that might not be as easy on a grill.

Article written by Kathy Jeffery
Kathy learned to cook early on in life because she had to feed the ranch hands! Kathy is a mama of 2 boys and dreams of having a vegetable garden one day.

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